ARCHAEOLOGISTS are to explore a site in Birmingham which may have been the scene of Boudicca's last battle.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS are to explore a site in Birmingham which may have been the scene of Boudicca's last battle.

Council planners, excited by the finds from trial trenches, have ordered a full archaeological excavation before allowing flats and homes to be built on the land at Parsons Hill, Kings Norton.

The site, which lies close to the line of a known Roman road, fits many of the few facts known about the scene of the final 61 AD showdown between Suetonius Paulinus and his 10,000 troops and the 200,000 rebels led by the queen of the Iceni tribe, Boudicca.

It is hilly with mature woodland, an ideal tactical mixture for a badly outnumbered Roman general. It is also served, ironically, by a McDonald's restaurant.

"Nobody knows exactly where the last battle was fought but historians believe that it was somewhere in the West Midlands," explained city conservationist, Coun Peter Douglas Osborn.

"This site fits all the facts and as it is on the route to Metchley, the Roman fort discovered in Birmingham, represents a real possibility.

"The evidence and well preserved remains unearthed from trial trenches - including pebble surfaces and medieval artefacts - are certainly encouraging.

"It would be priceless if we found that this historic battle was fought outside a McDonald's fast food joint."

He is also hoping the dig may turn up some milestones throwing light on the mystery of what name the Romans gave to Birmingham.

"It is an intruiging opportunity to unearth something of the city's lost history," he added.